Ever Mine (Dragon Lore) (13 page)

“True.” Nathan nodded, his hand tightening around her father’s throat. “But I have your life in my hands, and if breaking your neck won’t kill you, I’m sure I can find a way.”

“Nathan, what are you doing?” She whispered, pain spreading across her chest.

“Letting you go home.”

As if to prove he’d held all the cards all along, her father flicked his fingertips, sending Nathan sprawling into the mud. Paetyr rose to his feet and casually brushed the grime off his backside. When he was pristine again, he turned to Katenia and lifted a silver brow. “Daughter, what do you want?”

Confused by the question, though not by the answer, she lifted her chin and met his gaze without any hesitation. “Nathan.”

“You just met him.”

She swiped her fingertips over the tear tracks on her cheeks, and let out a watery snort. “So? Father, he’s my life-mate. I’d have him until the ending of time, if there was a way.”

His always imperious face twitched once. “He’s human, and mortal.”

She lifted her chin again. “Then I will become mortal, and live in the human world with him.” She knew they were stuck in her world at the moment, but he’d asked her what she wanted, and she was telling him.

“His family brought danger upon you.”

Her temper ignited like a firestorm inside of her. She took a step forward and drilled her finger into his chest. “You would have me banished, or used as a sex slave good only for bearing children. You don’t get to judge, Father.”

He watched her for a long moment through wide eyes, before he turned his attention to Nathan, who was just getting to his feet. Blood dripped from a wound on his temple, but there was no hesitation when he gently lifted her and set her firmly behind him again, protecting her from the perceived threat. Her father raised a brow. “You know what you are facing if I send you back to your world? You think you can protect my daughter from a witch? That you could keep her safe and happy in a human world?”

“I think I would die trying,” Nathan said simply, quietly. “No one will get to her without going through me. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her happiness.”

“Including giving her up.”

He set his jaw, and nodded. “Yes.”

“Including threatening her father.”

Nathan barked out a laugh. “No, not a threat. Threats are for people who don’t want to go through with it. That was a promise.”

Paetyr nodded. “Then it’s all I need.” He started forward, only to snarl when Nathan blocked his path to Katenia. After one heart-stopping moment, Nathan finally moved to the side, and before she knew what was happening, her father wrapped her in a hug. His shoulders shook. “Take care, my daughter. We will see each other again.” He shifted his gaze to Nathan. “The witch has promised your uncle power in return for my daughter. Protect her from that and you will have my blessing.”

Nathan raised a brow. “Great. How do I stop a witch?”

“Love.” He grinned. “And this.”

He handed Nathan a long, sheathed blade. With one last look at Katenia, he clapped his hands, and she and Nathan were human-sized again.

Chapter 18

The storm silenced as they appeared in his aunt’s yard, leaving nothing but their heartbeats, and sending unease rippling down Nathan’s spine. He gripped Katenia’s hand and pulled her in close to his side. “Stay with me,” he said as he turned in a circle, trying to get his bearings.

She tightened her hand in his and gripped his forearm with the other one as she tucked herself in close behind his arm. “Not going anywhere. What’s going on?”

Hell if he knew. He spotted the house in the distance, darkened and spooky, and dragged her toward it. It wasn’t the safest place in the world, but it would be out of the elements. “I think Rhiannon is playing games.”

“What about your aunt and uncle?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.” They climbed the porch and he let go of her hand long enough to unsheathe the knife her father had given him. It was a long, lethal-looking blade, words in a language he didn’t recognize etched into the silver. “None of this makes fucking sense.”

A breeze, carrying the distinct scent of roses and madness, brushed over his skin. He kicked at the back door until the wood splintered, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Give me the fairy slut, Nathan, and come home with me. Then this will all be over.”

He gritted his teeth against the disembodied voice, full of softness and promises, floating across the air. He lifted his head. “Call her a slut again and I promise you will beg me for death before the end of this.”

Katenia’s finger drilled into his ribcage as he slammed his shoulder against the door. “Stop antagonizing the crazy woman, Nathan!”

The storm picked up again until the rain bit against their skin, lashing down to the bone. Katenia screamed against the pain.

“Enough!” Nathan bellowed. He let go of his fairy’s hand and stepped forward into the heart of the torrential downpour. “You want me, Rhiannon, come face me, bitch. Come and get me.”

He kept his face calm, his demeanor and personality hardening into sheer ice. With his need to keep the woman he loved safe, the beast he’d fought his entire life to keep chained deep inside was tearing free of its walls. If he had to destroy Rhiannon to do it…

So be it.

“You were supposed to love me! Me!” she screeched. “I gave you everything, and you were supposed to be mine!”

“I tried. It just didn’t work, Rhi.” He straightened and ran up the back porch stairs, throwing his shoulder into the door. It shattered a big enough hole in the middle for him to shove Katenia inside. “Run,” he ordered. “Don’t stop until you get to the red door across the kitchen. It leads to the basement. Get in there and bolt yourself in. Don’t open it for anyone but me.”

She shook her head at him. “Nathan—”

“Go!” he roared.

She ran, Rhiannon’s howl of fury following her. “Do you think I won’t be able to find her?” she asked in a scream.

Nathan barked out a mocking laugh. “You’re too afraid to even show your face. I’m not worried about you finding her.”

“You lie!” She hissed. “Thad will find her and bring her to me. Drop the knife and come willingly, Nathan, and I promise to make her death quick.”

“You know,” he started conversationally, leaning against the porch railing and flipping the wicked knife, catching it perfectly each time. “I’m getting really tired of being threatened. You know me, Rhiannon. You know there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep someone I love safe.”

Thunder rattled the earth, shaking the house to its foundation. “You were supposed to love
me!”

“Gee,” he drawled, “with this temper, I can’t imagine why I don’t.” He straightened, all pretense of easiness gone. “Show yourself!”

His heart clenched as she stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the wide back yard. She was dressed in blood-red from head-to-foot, the full-length gown clinging to her torso like skin, then flaring at the hips. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head. There was fear glittering in her eyes, but it was overshadowed by a madness he’d somehow overlooked for more than a decade. Had she always been this insane? How had he missed it? He shook his head because no matter his regrets, it was too late. He could handle her threatening him, but Katenia was off-limits.

“Me.” She said it simply as her hand flicked out, a brush of power hitting him in the chest and sending him crashing through the doorway into the kitchen. “How
dare
you reject me!”

She advanced, throwing another bolt of power at him before he could get to his feet, this one throwing him into the cabinets. He felt the crack in his ribs, and had to grit his teeth against the sharp pain. It wasn’t the first time his ribs had been broken, but damn if the pain didn’t threaten to knock his knees out from under him as he struggled to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He tightened his grip on his knife as he pulled himself up and leaned against the counter. She stepped over the threshold and into the kitchen. “You never did fight fair.”

With a swipe of her hand, she sent the table and chairs in her path flying out of her way. “Why do that, when I can make you kneel?” she asked, putting her hand out, palm down. Excruciating pressure built in his skull, until he was on his knees and doubled over. “Beg,” she snapped. “Beg, and I won’t keep you caged for my enjoyment.”

“Please.” The word gritted out through clenched teeth, the pain in his head threatening to shatter his skull. Still, he got to his feet again, and summoning all the strength he possessed, he staggered toward her, acknowledging the triumph in her eyes with the barest nod of his head. He reached out for her, hooking his arm around her waist and yanking her into his chest. The victory that shone in her eyes turned to utter confusion when he shoved the knife into her belly. She tried to jerk away from him, but he sliced upward, the knife cutting through bone and tissue and organs as easily as moving through water. He shoved her away from him. “If you loved me, Rhi, you’d have known I don’t beg anyone.”

“What did you do?!” Thad screeched, running from the direction of the basement, Katenia’s arm clutched in one hand. He crashed to the floor next to Rhiannon, tears streaming down his face as he stared into lifeless eyes. “It was all supposed to be mine.”

With his focus on the bruise forming on Katenia’s jaw, Nathan wrapped an arm around his waist and moved forward slowly, using his uncle’s distraught distraction against him. “What was supposed to be yours?”

“The power of the fairy,” Thad sobbed. He yanked the knife out of Rhiannon’s chest and got to his feet, turning on Nathan, stopping him in his tracks. “You did this!”

Nathan couldn’t help it. He laughed, despite the staggering pain in his ribs. “That seems to be the theme of the day. Let her go, Thad. I killed Rhiannon. I will kill you, too.”

But his uncle was beyond reason. He lifted the knife to Katenia’s throat, the serrated edge biting into the tender flesh. “I want what I was promised!”

With his heart in his throat, Nathan dared a glance at Katenia, and nearly smiled at the fury flashing in her eyes as she glared at him. There was fear in her, but she was damn furious with Thad.

“Can I?” she asked.

He didn’t have to ask what she meant. He nodded as he barked out a laugh. “Go for it, babe.”

Her temper lashed out of her, coursing into Thad, who still gripped her arm. He screamed at the current boiling through his bloodstream, and Nathan was on him the next moment, wrenching the knife away. Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into his uncle’s heart, anchoring him to the hardwood floor next to Rhiannon.

He barely managed to get to his feet when a small fury of motion hit him, the slight body slamming into him with so much force he stumbled backward. Pain radiated from his ribs to every extremity, and he couldn’t give a shit less. His hand dove into her hair, and he leaned up, his mouth fusing to hers, greedy and desperate as relief and horror washed over him.

“I love you,” he murmured. “I love you.” It was the pulse in his heart, the intensity too much for him to keep inside, until it had no choice but to escape him on a desperate chant. “I love you, Katenia.”

“I know.” She straddled over him, shoving his shirt up as she kissed his face, his throat, his abs. “I need you, Nathan.”

He groaned when she unzipped his pants, freeing his aching cock. “Gentle, baby, I’m hurt.”

“I’ll do all the work,” she promised and lifted the skirt of her dress to slide him in. The tears welled up in her eyes as she leaned down to kiss him again, her hands splaying against his ribcage. His moan of pleasure turned to a hiss when the pain in his ribs intensified for a single heartbeat, before dulling to a vague ache. The second he could move, he reared up into her, delighting in the arch of her body as she accepted him, urging him on faster, harder, until they came together, her scream mixing with his roar.

He’d barely collapsed against the floor, with her curled on top of him, when the presence of another prickled along Nathan’s skin. He was snarling as he sat up, the knife clenched in his hand, only to go still at the fairies fanned out in front of him. “Ah, Katenia, I think you have visitors.”

She stilled, her mouth dropping open. With a blush staining her cheeks and fear in her eyes, she climbed off him. When he’d covered himself, she scrambled to her feet. Her arms flew to the sides to shield him again. “You cannot have him.”

Her father floated forward, amusement glinting in eyes as silver as his wings. “Calm down, we’re not here to hurt him.”

Nathan tucked himself into his jeans and stood up, defiantly wrapping his arm around Katenia’s waist, hauling her to his chest as he stared down her entire smiling family, from the regal woman with the silver hair on one end, to the skinnier version of Katenia on the other. Though he knew the kind of havoc they could wreak even in their small size, he was finding it hard to be intimidated at the moment. “What do you want?”

“We come with a gift,” her father said.

It was on the tip of Nathan’s tongue to tell him to shove it, but the last gift the fairy had given him had kept his Katenia safe. Still… “What is it?” he asked, warily.

“I have decided I will not watch my daughter wither and die in the human world.” Even as Nathan’s heart dropped, the man continued on. “So I am granting you the gift of immortality.”